City officials proposing to build a school on Caton Avenue near E. Seventh Street in Kensington were blindsided at a public hearing when the owner of half the site said that he wants to finish his own stalled residential project on the same land.
“This is the first we have been aware of it,” Tami Rachelson of the School Construction Authority told Community Board 7.
For the Department of Education, the news could be not only an embarrassment, but also a financial blow.
If developer Robert Cherry gets the go-ahead to restart his controversial project — which was halted when the city downzoned the area in 2009 — the city would have to pay considerably more to acquire the property.
“We want to build,” Cherry said, though board members and residents want just the opposite.
Full story here.
UPDATE:
This is Phase I of the School Construction Authority's (SCA) process, which is the pre-schematic phase that begins the public review process. Until the site is approved, the SCA does not control the property. Concerns from the public at the hearing included traffic and safety, zoning, and parking.
If you were unable to attend the hearing and would like to submit comments to the NY School Construction Authority, the deadline is March 7.
New York City School Construction Authority
Ross J. Holden
VP and General Counsel
30-30 Thomson Avenue
Long Island City, New York 11101
Rholden@nycsca.org
Identify the school by it's address: 701 Caton Ave., Brooklyn.